The Haunted House
by Mandy Kay Miller
Summary: The Haunted House at Valley Fair is scarier than you think... and it's up to the Animorphs to stop the Yeerks from infesting their entire school during an optional weekend field trip.
1. Erek's News

Marco wiped his hands on his jeans. Rarely was he nervous around girls. In fact, he was one of the best guys at handling them. However, that was back in the day when all he did was talk and flirt with them. Now that most of his hours were put in fighting Hork-Bajir, he'd somehow lost his touch.

_Suave,_ he coached himself. _Dude, be suave._

He took a step forward towards the girl who was putting her books in her locker. Then Jake stepped in his way, unknowingly.

"Hey, you going to Valley Fair tomorrow?" he asked. Marco looked at Jake with a strange expression, mixed with gratitude, anger, frustration, and relief.

"Uh, yeah, man," Marco replied, starting to walk away from his original target using Jake's conversation making as an excuse. _I would have done it,_ he lied to himself. _Really, I would have._

"Some people are going with dates," Jake casually told him. "What do you think of Cassie?"

"She's not really my type…"

Jake hit his friend jokingly on the shoulder. "I don't know if I can ask her."

"So just show up. You don't _have_ to actually _go_ together. Just… go separately and hang out. Have fun."

"Yeah, but… next level? Commitment? Don't women like that stuff?"

"Man, I've been too busy fighting scum of the universe to save planet Earth as we know it to really notice."

Jake laughed. "You've been playing that game I lent you?"

It was a typical cover up. Marco's comment had to be backed with a reason for his mention of aliens, otherwise it went down in the book as a Yeerk reference.

"It's sweet. Awesome graphics."

"Yeah, but the sound quality sucks through my speakers. Maybe I'll have to play it at your house sometime."

"I'd go for that. We can take Ax along."

Jake laughed. "He'd love that."

"Totally."

As Rachel passed the 2 boys she tried to slip a piece of paper in Jake's hand. He was unprepared and missed it, but she had a second shot at Marco and it was a success. The note was in his hands.

"Now she's passing me love notes," Marco muttered. Then he unfolded it and saw that it read "Cassie's after school."

"It was meant for me," Jake told him. "I'm supposed to read it first."

"Nu-uh, man. She did that to warn _me_. She doesn't really want you in on her obsession."

"We going to Cassie's today?"

"Yup."

"Problem?"

"You bet."

~*~

When Marco and Jake walked into Cassie's barn that day they found the rest of the group, save Tobias. But in his place someone else was there. Someone the boys hadn't expected.

"Erek?"

The android waved his metal hand, covered up by a holographic one. "Hey, guys. What's up?"

"Haven't seen you in awhile," Jake stated. "Is this big?"

"Everything they do is big," Erek replied. "So, yeah, it's big. But you guys've handled worse."

"What is it?" Marco asked.

"You know Chapman, assistant vice-principal or whatever? He organized the trip you guys are going on. This youth amusement park thing."

"I have a feeling of where this is going," Marco muttered. The Yeerks were obviously doing something at the Fair, otherwise Erek wouldn't of bothered to mention it.

"Well, the Yeerks turned the Haunted House into an infestation clinic. People come in, Controllers come out."

Ax, in human form, looked at Jake curiously. "What is a Haunted House? Does it have to do with human spirits? Sp. Spirrrrrits-u. Spiritssssu. Ts. Ts."

"It's a large white mansion. People go inside where it's really dark and faky things pop up made to scare you," Jake answered. "Supposed to be scary."

"Why would a human want to be scared?"

"Yet another nutty thing about us," Marco replied. "We can balance on only two legs, get along just fine with 2-dementional TV, and like to get freaked out in dark mansions."

Jake turned back to Erek. "So… what, Chapman's trying it out on us first?"

Erek nodded. "The way I understand. No one's been made a Controller from that yet, but tomorrow is when it's opening. And you don't just have to watch the people from your school… people all over the country will be there that will go in there."

"So we have to keep tabs on everyone at the Fair?" Cassie asked. "It's impossible. Even if we all morphed birds, no way will we be able to watch _everyone_."

"Then we close up the Haunted House," Rachel replied. "Blow it up tonight, and have a fun trip tomorrow. Problem solved."

"I don't think you'll be getting in the fair any time soon," Erek said darkly. "You can always try, but they have really really heavy security. Don't want those Andalite Bandits screwing everything up." He looked at Jake and gave him an encouraging smile. "But I trust you."

"How heavy?"

"Pretty heavy."

"We have to try, at least," Rachel pleaded. "We can't just let everyone go tomorrow. Half the school will be Controllers, if they aren't already."

"Those houses are so lame no one will go in there anyway," Marco replied. "The Yeerks'll get maybe 2 of our kids. 3 if they're morons."

"What about the people _not_ from our school?" Jake asked. "We aren't just worried about that. We've got people all over going to Valley Fair tomorrow. Not just some optional Saturday field trip from a local high school."

"Exactly," Rachel said eagerly. "Let's do it."

"Let's not and say we did," Marco answered.

"We go in tonight," Jake said, laying down the plan. "But we don't want to get caught, so if we think it's really bad, we leave. If we think we might be able to break in, we try."

"What happens once we get in there?" Cassie asked.

"We find the Yeerk pool. Destroy it. They've got to have one nearby if they plan to make it the center for infestation. Let's meet back here… two. OK? We'll be back by four."

"2 _AM_?" Marco wined. "My sleeping schedule is so messed up."

"Yeah, but it's worth it," Rachel sated with a smile.


	2. Celia

A/N: T.B. Stormshot: I was going to make it The Gardens but then I realized that then you get into this whole thing of whether or not Cassie's mom is a Controller and things get messy from there. I dunno. Oedipal Kat: lol, I think The Chase is dead. I "finished" that one. =)

Marco picked up the phone and dialed the number. He gave himself the same pep talk as before while it rang. _Be smooth and confident. Smooth and confident._

"Hello?"

It was a male voice on the other line. Could it be her boyfriend? Did she have a boyfriend? He hadn't even thought of that.

"Uh, hi. Is Celia home?"

"Yeah." There was a pause, then a female's voice.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Celia, this is Marco. From school."

"Um…"

"I'm in your Algebra class," he added quickly, hoping she knew who he was. His chances were better if she at least knew who was asking her.

"Oh, right. I remember."

"So, are you going to the park tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"Did you hear, some people are going with dates."

"Oh."

"Are you?"

"Not at the moment."

Marco smiled. "Do you wanna go with me?"

"Sure."

_Marco, you still got it,_ he told himself proudly.

"Cool."

"I hear the Haunted House is really cool."

Marco froze. Could she be a Controller? He hadn't thought of that, either. If she was, it would only be typical if she tried to convince him that it was good so that he'd go in.

"Oh… I don't really get into that stuff."

"I've never been in a Haunted House before. I want to try it."

Marco wanted to get down on his knees, raise his hands to the ceiling, and scream "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" but instead he said, "Well, maybe we'll do that, then." It was a lie. He obviously couldn't go in there. But, he reminded himself, the Haunted House may not be there tomorrow. Or, maybe he could keep her distracted with rides. Or maybe she'd entirely forget the whole thing by tomorrow morning and it wouldn't even matter.

"So I'll see you at school?" Celia asked.

"Yeah. Bye."

"Bye."

~*~

Staring at the ceiling, Marco suddenly decided that he needed a life. It was 1:00, way too early to go to Cassie's. But he couldn't get back to sleep for some reason, and even if he could, he wouldn't want to for fear that he'd oversleep. But, maybe it wouldn't be the end of the world if he _did_ oversleep, because then he'd have an excuse not to go on the mission tonight.

He sat up in his bead when he saw a light from under his door go on. Who was in his house? Or was that his dad up…?

He got up and opened the door to find his father starting to the couch. "Oh, hey, Marco," he greeted. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

Marco shook his head. "Nah. Couldn't sleep. You?"

"Same. Have a seat, we'll watch TV."

_I wonder how long he'll be up. If he's up at 1:50, when I have to leave, things could get ugly._

"I think you should lay back down and try to sleep," Marco replied. "You'll never sleep if you don't try."

"Aw, let me watch TV for a half-hour," his dad said smiling, pretending to be a kid again. "Please?"

"Young man, get back in your room," Marco said sternly. His dad laughed.

"Really, c'mere. Sit down. What's on your mind?"

Marco shrugged as he sat down next to his father. "Not much."

"Something. The only time you don't sleep is when you're either excited, nervous, or scared. You're still loosing sleep from when you saw The Exorcist, I think." (A/N: I've never seen The Exorcist, but I heard it's freaky. If you've seen it and you know it isn't, then insert something different.)

Marco shivered, remembering that movie. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"What R rated movie did you sneak into this time?"

"It's not a movie."

"No?"

_No, it's these aliens. See, dad, they're 7, 8 feet tall with blades on their shoulders and knees and feet, and I've seen them try to rip open my throat. In real life._

"I think it's excitement. See, there's this girl…"

His dad's smile grew. "What's her name?"

"Celia. She's an exchange from France."

"Ooh. Exotic. I like your thinking."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure it'll work out."

"Why not?"

_The aliens… remember the 7-foot tall aliens with blades? Well, she might be on their side._

"She's not really my type, I don't think."

"What about that Rachel, Jake's cousin? She's pretty."

Marco made a face. "Dad, please, she completely grosses me out."

"Why's that?"

_I've seen her morph into a cockroach, that's why._

"I dunno, she just does. Something about dating my best friend's cousin, I guess."

"She have any friends? Usually, the best-looking girls only hang out with other good-looking girls."

"Something about dating my best friend's cousin's friend."

Dad laughed. "Well, this French girl must be something, because my son sure is picky. When I was your age I'd go out with any girl that had the legs."

Marco laughed. " "The legs?" What are "the legs?""

"_The_ legs."

"Oh, excuse me. What are "_the_ legs?""

"Don't give me that. You know what I'm talking about."

"Mom have legs?" Marco asked before thinking. Then, noting the more serious mood, wished he could take it back. But to his surprise, his dad didn't break down or run off or anything. His smile left his face leaving another look upon it… one that looked caring and respectful, remembering fond old memories.

"She didn't need legs. She had everything else."

"She didn't need 'em, but did she have 'em?"

"Oh, yeah. Celia got legs?"

"I've only seen her in jeans, but so far they look fine to me."

"Well…" His dad hit him in the shoulder gently. "Hope you get some sleep." Then he stood.

"You, too." Once his dad was in his room, Marco looked at his watch. 1:15. Until he had to leave, he played on his computer to pass the time. Then he locked his bedroom door in case his dad tried to come in in the middle of the night, stripped down to his morphing outfit, opened his window, and crawled out. He scooped up a square clump of maybe an inch of dirt and found that the key was still buried in that spot, so then he closed the window with comfort and locked it shut, then reburied the key, and morphed into an owl. Then he flew to Cassie's, where the rest of the group was there.

Let's go.


	3. Pipes and Bomb Threats

When the group got to the park, they found that Erek had not lied to them about the security. There were human Controllers standing all around the gates, all dressed in security uniforms with guns and the works. The 6 owls flew over to a tree that was inside of the park. Getting in was easy. The hard part was demorphing, getting into battle morphs, finding the Yeerk pool, and destroying it. Oh, yeah, and getting back out alive.

Think they see us? Rachel wondered.

If they do, they'll know that we aren't just owls, Cassie replied. There's 6 of us, for one thing. And owls don't just hang out together in the same tree. Not to mention the fact that they don't wanna take chances, and will probably assume that every animal is a suspect.

You're positivity is overwhelming, Marco muttered.

Then we split up, Jake said. Someone stay here, the rest of us find our own trees. But stay close enough so we can communicate. We need to find out how to get in there.

At that, Marco volunteered to stay and the rest flew off a little ways so that they wouldn't look suspicious.

Everyone within range? Jake asked.

I hear you, Rachel said. Barely.

Me, too, Tobias agreed. One by one, the Animorphs all told Jake where they were and that they could hear him. Then they got down to business.

I don't suppose we could just fly in the house, Marco suggested.

Fat chance. The doors are closed, probably locked, there's probably security there, too, and it's hard to fly inside of buildings, Rachel replied. New plan?

Find somewhere to remorph flies or something to get in, Tobias wondered aloud.

Hmm… maybe, Jake said. But where? Controllers are all over the place.

I think they're doing that for a reason, Marco pointed out. Can't say I blame 'em.

Prince Jake? I see an area that we might be able to use, Ax reported. It is not too far from where I am, and I believe we should have enough space to morph without being noticed, especially noting the darkness and the limit to the human Controllers' sight.

Where are you, Ax?

Well, there is a very tall, large wheel nearby, with supports all coming in to the center, and small benches attached to it.

Ferris Wheel? Cassie guessed.

Most likely, Rachel agreed. I can see that from here, but it's not too terribly close to me.

Ax, are there more trees by you? Jake asked.

Yes, there are a few.

OK. Everyone fly at the Ferris Wheel and find a _different_ tree each to land on. That way we can see what Ax is talking about. Everyone did as he said, and once they arrived they began looking for the spot Ax pointed out.

Oh, I see it, Cassie said. Kinda by Jake?

Which one of us is Jake? Marco wondered.

Jake is 2 to the right of you, Rachel told Marco. Eh… sort of.

Oh, I think I see him. Hi, Jake!

Hi, Marco.

How are you?

Just fine, thanks. Anyway, what about that guy over there? He'll make me kinda nervous.

The guy that's, like, directly in front of you a little bit? Rachel asked.

That's the one.

Don't worry about him. Morphing won't take us too long. We only need him to turn his back and we're good. Besides… it's dark out. He won't see a thing.

I don't know about this…

OK, Marco usually gets bad feelings about missions, Rachel began. But when _Jake_ starts to worry, you know something isn't right.

What are you saying, Xena? That you think we should all go back to bed? Marco asked in a challenging voice.

What are you saying? That you don't?

I agree with Rachel, Cassie cut in. Maybe this isn't such a good idea.

Fine, we look for another place, Tobias said. It's no big deal. Let's move out and try to find somewhere else.

I think that's a good idea, Jake agreed. With that, he flew away. Meet back here in 5 minutes, or as close to that as you can, he informed them as he flew. Look for an open space.

The Animorphs took off, and in near 5 minutes they all met back at the place they'd originally been.

Anyone have any luck? Jake asked. One by one, everyone said no. Fine, then. Looks like we don't have much choice. We can go back, or we can take our chances right down there. All in favor of going home?

I am, Marco said. Let's sleep.

It isn't worth risking getting caught, Tobias said slowly. Maybe we should turn around.

We risk getting caught every time we do a mission, Rachel argued. Let's do it.

I think we're better off safe than sorry, Cassie said quietly. Maybe… maybe Tobias and Marco are right.

Ax? Jake asked.

I follow you, Prince Jake.

Jake wanted to sigh, but it was impossible for the owl. Whenever he wasn't sure what to do, he opened it up to the rest of them so that maybe he wouldn't have to choose, but it seemed like he always made the final call, anyway.

Well… I don't know, I have a bad feeling about that controller, Jake admitted. Maybe… OK, if we did go home, what would we do about tomorrow? We can't forget about it.

We could blow up the school, Marco suggested. Then they'd prob'ly cancel the trip.

Get real.

No, seriously now, Marco said, taking on a more serious tone as well. What if we send an anonymous e-mail and route it through some other country so they don't know who sent it, and include a bomb threat? They wouldn't risk bringing people to the school, then.

We can't do that, Cassie said. We'd get everyone all worried about bombs and such.

Yeah, and if we're lucky, they'll even call off school on Monday.

I don't know about that… Jake replied.

What if we sign it as Andalites? Rachel asked. Then the Controllers would cover it up and say something else happened, not necessarily a bomb threat, and then they wouldn't worry people and we wouldn't go on the trip?

That could work, Tobias commented.

But then we still have to worry about the rest of the people coming to the fair tomorrow, Jake replied. No, I don't think this'll work.

What if we don't threaten the _school,_ but the _fair_? Marco asked. They'd close it, at least for the day. If nothing else, it buys us time.

Time for what? Tobias returned. If we can't get in, we can't get in. It doesn't matter how much time we have.

I know! Cassie said suddenly. Why did TA not have school last week?

Um… spring break? Marco guessed.

No, the plumbing was out. All we need to do is find a pipe and break it, and the fair's out for the day. We don't even have to worry about threats or anything. And they won't even know it was us.

That's a good idea, Jake said. But how would we do it?

Taxxon to get down there, and Ax's tail blade will be more than enough to cut through the pipe.

Tobias shivered. I didn't like that Taxxon morph so much.

We may have to use it, Jake replied. Sorry, Tobias, but this is sounding like the best option. Unless anyone else has a suggestion? It was quiet. All right, then, let's fly out of here. How are we going to locate the pipes.

Eh… that shouldn't be too hard, Marco replied. I have an idea. But will this take long?

I hope not.

Good.

Rachel got out of her tree and started to lead them away. C'mon, you guys! Let's do it!


	4. Slitting the Pipe

A/N: sorry for randomly dropping this story.  I'm gonna try and finish it off quickly since I'm approaching a block (groan) but… well, I'll do my best to not make it rushed.  TA is just some school I guess… I didn't feel like naming anything, and I had to keep up with the whole Animorphs-you-can't-know-where-we-are thing.  Something Academy, maybe?  Characterization: yeah, I know Marco's definitely off by at least a little, Rachel might be… Jake?  I'm not sure about him.  But this is just a short little fic… my long ones are what I really put my heart and soul into.  This is just some little diddy…

            "Oh, grand idea," Rachel mumbled.  "Why don't we just dig around by one of the water rides."

            "I didn't hear you say anything when Jake asked for ideas," Marco replied.

            "This isn't an idea, Marco.  It's a duh."

            "Well, my brilliant 'duh' just saved the entire school from infestation."

            "I don't know a lot about pipes," Jake stated.  "So… Tobias, just kind of dig around in this area, okay?  You'll hit something eventually."

            Tobias began to morph the Taxxon.  Try to keep a distance or a tail blade at my throat or something, he told them.  Just so I don't get out of control.  I know that the first time you morph is the hardest to control, but I have a feeling this guy's gonna give me trouble again.

            The Animorphs each took a few steps back except for Ax, in Andalite form, who stayed by Tobias with his tail ready.

            "What are we gonna do once the pipes are busted?" Marco asked.

            "Go home," Jake replied.

            "Well, I know that, but they're eventually gonna fix 'em.  What then?"

            "By then, we will have hopefully destroyed the Yeerk pool."

            "Why don't we just do that now?"

            "Because we can't get in."

            "What makes you think we'll get in then?  If anything, they'll increase security.  We're making this harder on ourselves."

            "This preoccupies them," Cassie replied.  "They'll need to fix this before they can open the park, and they'll need to open the park before they can infest anyone.  This becomes their goal… not guarding the house."

            "They have enough Human Controllers; they could probably do both."

            "But they're still double minded," Jake answered.  "C'mon, Marco.  Trust me."

            OK, let's do this, Tobias said, now fully Taxxon.  He began eating away at the ground below him.  It appeared that he had control over the body that he was in, but Tobias could feel the inner war going on.  He was just barely hanging on to the lead he had over the Taxxon's instinct.  It liked the dirt, of course – it liked anything it could eat – but it would prefer flesh if it was available, which it was.  Once he reached the pipe, Tobias began demorphing right away.  He didn't want to spend more time than he had to in Taxxon morph.

            "I think everyone'll morph birds," Jake said, laying out the plan for the rest of the night.  "Perch just outside of the park, except me.  I'll go Hork-Bajir and slash open the pipe, then make a run for it."

            "You'll never get out," Rachel replied.

            "Yeah, but a Hork-Bajir can at least fight these humans."  Jake paused, then rolled his eyes.  "Man, I'm calling our own race 'humans.'  I hang out with aliens too much."

            "What about Ax?" Marco asked.  "He's one morph closer than you'd be after making a break for it.  And Andalites are better than Hork-Bajir."

            Jake hesitated.  He would rather put himself in danger than Ax, but Marco was right in saying that they might have a better chance if Ax did it.  "What do you think?" he asked.

            I will do whatever you ask, Ax replied.

            Jake looked down at the pipe.  "Well… cut it near the bottom, OK, Ax?  I don't want water spraying up and making a scene."

            Yes, Prince Jake.

            "We'll wait for you just outside, OK?  I'll make sure we're within range."  He looked to everyone else and nodded, and they each began to morph owls.

            It went along as planned.  Ax had slit the pipe and gotten back out without being caught, though it was a close call.  They each flew back to their houses after they made sure Ax was still there, and everyone went back to sleep.

A/N: weak ending; go ahead, say it!  Guess what: I don't care.  I say that I can't write if what I'm writing has a weak plot, and this has a weak plot.  I can do better with better fics, really, I can!  But for those of you who like this story, I'll just have to keep doing my best and hoping that even though it _is_ pathetic, it's not as pathetic as I think it is.  Maybe?  Hopefully?  :]


	5. The Plan

A/N: I'm picking this story up again, after it was so randomly dropped.  I guess that's good news.

Freak Apple: Lol!  My pity about your grandma.  I can just picture an old lady saying "boo-tay!"  Lol, it's hilarious.  I'm sorry she said that in front of your friends…

Oedipal Kat: I'm glad you're still there reading my story!  Sorry for the large lapse in updates… (it felt like five months since I'd updated.  Was it five, or does it just seem that way?)

Ah, chapter 5:

            Celia called Marco.

            Celia.  Called.  Marco.

            The teenage Spaniard found great joy in these words.

            "Is this Marco?"  The girl's voice on the other line was soft and delicate.

            "Yeah," he replied.

            "Chapman told me to call you and a few other people.  I guess the trip to Valley Fair is canceled."

            "Really?"  Marco acted surprised as he sat casually down on the couch.

            "Turns out, they're having problems with the plumbing."

            "Huh.  No kidding?"

            "So, it looks like we're going next Saturday instead of today."

            "When does it open back up?  Tomorrow?"

            "I don't know.  Do you still wanna do something today?"

            Marco perked up.  Did _Celia just ask _him_ out?  She didn't even know who he was the other day!  __I guess I'm just that good, he thought to himself.  He was about to agree, when he realized that Jake announced a meeting at Cassie's barn for that day at noon.  He looked at his watch that read 11:03.  He wouldn't have time to do anything with her before then, and he didn't know if they were going on a mission after the meeting.  Saving the world was such a drag sometimes._

            "Um, well, I would, but I have plans…"

            "I thought your plan, which was to go to Valley Fair, was just canceled?"

            Marco winced.  _Well, Celia, that's the thing.  See, I'm fighting slugs today…  "Oh, yeah, that's right.  But, you know Jake?  We do stuff every Saturday, so now that this is canceled, we'll probably do something today, too."  What a weak excuse.  He realized that it probably sounded like he didn't want to go out with her._

            "I thought you liked me."

            Marco wanted to yell.  It was so hard for him to turn her down because he'd had his eye on her for so long, but he just couldn't do anything today.  "I know it sounds like some lame excuse, but it's true.  Jake's really territorial…  I mean, no one gets my Saturdays but him, y'know?"

            "I thought you were friends.  Can't you talk to him?"

            "Well, his… his great-aunt just died, and he's kind of in a fragile state right now."

            "His great aunt?" Celia asked skeptically.

            "Yeah.  She was, um, driving in Australia and hit a kangaroo.  The thing went right through her windshield and killed her."

            "Jake's depressed because a kangaroo killed his great-aunt in Australia?"

            "And he never got to say goodbye…"

            "That is the biggest lie I've ever heard."

            "Look, Celia-"

            "Forget it, okay?  I'm going with someone else next week."  Then she hung up on him.

            Marco stared at the phone in his hands unbelievingly.  She'd asked him out… he was so close… then Jake's great-aunt 'died' and killed his love life along with her.

            "The things I do for him," Marco mumbled as he turned on the TV.  He commercial-surfed until five till noon, when he left a note for his dad that he was hanging out with Jake and went to Cassie's house.  He walked this time.  It had been awhile since he'd walked.

            When he got there, everyone was there except Cassie herself and Ax, who wasn't going to be there that day.

            "Cassie's finishing up lunch," Jake told Marco when he walked into the barn.  "She won't be more than a minute."

            "If Celia asks, your great-aunt died in Australia," Marco said.  Jake blinked.

            "What?"

            "She asked me out, and I turned her down because you're possessive of my Saturdays, and your great-aunt died so you're depressed."

            "Here I was thinking we'd gotten pretty good at lying," Rachel mumbled.

            "I panicked.  Not to mention, I don't lie well when I'm mad at myself for not accepting a date with probably the best looking girl in school."

            "Did she buy it?" Jake asked.  Marco snorted.

            "She's not as dumb as the rest of the French.  'Course she didn't."

            Then Cassie walked in.  "I'm really sorry," she said.  "But my parents had friends over, so I didn't want to skip out too soon."

            "That's fine," Jake replied.  "So, this is simple: all we need is a plan to destroy the Yeerk pool.  We think of a plan today, we execute it tonight, and everything's fine."

            But we still need a plan, Tobias said.  That's the hard part.

            "I wish we could just blow it up," Rachel stated.  "But I guess we'd need explosives for that, huh?"

            "Could set the place on fire," Marco suggested.

            How would we do that? Tobias asked.

            "Simple: go in there with matches.  When no one's looking, strike it and leave it.  Run like heck."

            "No," Jake said.  "If we do this, we do it right.  'Run like heck' is not a plan."

            "What about dropping it from the sky as we flew over?  Fly like heck."

            "How would you set the match on fire?"

            "I'm just brainstorming."

            "Actually, the house _is_ right by the fence," Cassie stated.  "Right by the fence that marks the outside of the fair.  We wouldn't even need to get in that way.  Just toss it over."

            "Yeah, but how would we get away with that?" Jake replied.  "They wouldn't let a bunch of teenagers just throw a match over the fence."

            "Run like heck," Marco supplied.

            "Pretend to be Controllers," Rachel said suddenly.  "That'll get us in.  We 'guard' the house.  When no one's looking, go in."

            "Once we're in, then what?" Jake asked.  "How do we get rid of the Yeerk pool?"

            "I was hoping someone would take up the plan from there."

            Dracon Beam, Tobias said.  Fry it.

            "So we get in, use a Dracon Beam on the pool which will probably take care of it, then walk out like nothing happened?"

            Rachel shrugged.  "Sure.  It won't blow the place up; no one'll even notice.  They'll have no reason to be suspicious if they think we're Controllers… unless they see us go in."

            "How about one of us does an insect morph and hang on to one of us pretending to be Controllers?  Once they're by the house, tell the insect, insect goes in… no one'll see it."  Marco smiled, proud of his idea.  "The only thing to make that more perfect is if we went out for ice cream afterwards."

            "We should be able to swipe a Dracon Beam easily enough," Jake said, nodding.  "They'll probably have some inside the house; if they don't, we'll probably get some for guarding it."

            "Next question: who and what insect?" Cassie asked.  "Probably not fly or ant.  Something that can see."

            "Wolf spider?" Rachel asked.

            "Cockroach?" Marco wondered.

            "It'd maybe be best if it wasn't an insect," Jake replied.  "What about a rabbit or something…"

            "Would a rabbit fit in someone's pockets?" Cassie asked.

            "It might," Marco replied.  "If you wear a large jacket over it, no one'll notice.  But it'd have to be a really small rabbit.  Maybe a baby."

            "A bat," Rachel said.  "And, no one'll think anything strange about a bat being in a Haunted House."

            "But how would it fly in there?" Jake replied.

            "Someone carries it in," Rachel answered.  "If they're only in there for five seconds, it won't matter."

            "If someone's just gonna set it down, we might as well do cockroach."

            "Cockroach, then."

            "Final question: who's gonna do it?"

            "I will," Rachel said right away.

            "Okay.  Let's meet back here at 8:00 tonight."

A/N: I hope that ending was better than my last one!  =)


	6. Get Out

A/N: wow, I think I've forgotten what the word "update" means.  I just wanted to finish this thing to get it out of my hair.  I hope you guys like this… I'd hate to disappoint anyone.  At the same time, I have tons of fics going on right now and I just don't have a lot of time.  I'll see what I can do for you.

            It was 8:00, and everyone met at Cassie's barn.  It wasn't very dark outside yet, but Jake had no idea how long the mission would take, so he wanted to get it started early.  So many things could go wrong, and he was incredibly worried.  This plan just had too many holes for it to go smoothly.  Maybe it would work out in the end, but not without untieing a few knots first.

            "I still don't like this," Jake told everyone.  "They might have a password or something."

            I was thinking about that, Tobias replied from the rafters.  What about if we flew in as owls like we did before, but then demorph, morph some other humans, and then just walked up to the house and told the current guard to take a break?  He'd assume that we already got past whatever security there was.

            "That's a good idea," Jake answered.  "But we don't have any other human morphs."

            "And it should stay that way," Cassie spoke up.

            Marco looked at her, maybe in frustration.  "Then what?  We're teenagers; they're all adults.  They won't think we can do it alone.  Do you have an idea?"

            "What about Erek?" Rachel wondered.  "He could just project a hollogram around us.  It'd be easy to get him in; he could just blend in with the grass or something until we were ready."

            Jake nodded.  "I think that's the best way."

            Anything else?

            "I don't think so… no.  Well, other than grabbing Erek."

            "Let's do it," Rachel said as she started walking to the door of the shed.  The rest of them followed her outside.

            I can't _believe_ I turned Cecelia down for _this_, Marco mumbled as him, Cassie, and Tobias flew away from the park.  The three of them had morphed birds and were going to be just outside the park in case of an emergency.

            Erek was using a hollogram to disguise him, cockroaches Rachel and Ax, and tiger Jake as a very tall, muscular man.  They were going to tell the current guard to take a break, just as planned, and then Rachel and Ax were to enter the house and destroy the Yeerk pool inside.  Jake wanted to be there because he would feel guilty leaving them alone, and also for firepower just in case.

            Marco, what did you do with Jake that was more important than our date? he asked himself, pretending to be Cecelia.  Then he took on his normal voice.  Oh, that?  I morphed into an owl and kept watch to make sure parasitic slugs didn't fight back in our effort to rescue the country.  But all I _really_ did, Cecelia, was sit in a tree and watch.

            You complain an awful lot, Tobias noted.  You don't have to do this if you don't want to… you had your chance to quit.

            Quit?  Marco the Magnificent does not simply quit, my good man.

            If it was your choice, then why are you whining about it?  I'm sure Jake would let you go back if you want.  He wouldn't be happy, but in the end he'd let you.

            You're sure testy tonight, Marco noted.  Do _you_ have something better to do?

            I'm just irritated, that's all.  Sitting in a tree, watching them do what they're supposed to, hearing you whine.

            Well-  Marco stopped talking when he started to get suspicious about what was going on below them.  The house guard didn't seem like he wanted to let Erek and the others take over.  Why isn't he leaving?

            He just doesn't want to leave his post, Cassie answered.  They're not suspicious – yet.  That man just isn't tired.

            "I can cover for a minute if your host needs to relieve himself or something," Erek said to the guard.  He didn't use his normal voice; he distorted it.

            "My host is fine," the man answered.  "Go somewhere else where you can be of more help."

            "I was told to guard here, and there's no use in having two guards for such a tedious job," Erek insisted.  "But I will do as I was told."  Then he took up a position by the door of the house.  The man looked at him for a minute and refused to move, but in two minutes he finally gave up and walked away.

            That worried me, Jake stated.  Rachel?  Ax?  Go for it.

            And hurry up, Marco called to them from his tree.

            Rachel rounded a courner so that she wasn't visible to whoever was outside, and then began to demorph quickly, so that she could spend as little time as possible in that morph.  Ax followed her, and soon they were both in their natural states.

            "Okay, now where is this pool?" Rachel asked him.  Ax shook his head – a human behavior he'd picked up.

            I do not know.  It would help if we were more able to see.

            "Should we go owl?"

            I will ask.  Then Ax directed his thought-speech to Jake.  Prince Jake?  We did not think of everything when we planned this, and Rachel and I are unable to see.  Do you advise we morph into owls?

            Yeah, sure, Jake answered.  Or anything else you think would be helpful.  Your job is to destroy the Yeerk pool and not make a scene.  Beyond that, do what you have to.

            Yes, Prince Jake.

            But Ax?  I think you guys should try wolf instead.  With the owl it'll be harder to get around.

            Yes, Prince Jake.

            The two inside started morphing into wolves.  Once they were done, they went down a long hallway.  They sniffed around for awhile, trying to smell Yeerks or a Yeerk pool.  After some wandering, they found the way to get there.  They crawled through a small opening and there, found the pool.

            There aren't many Yeerks in here, Rachel noted.  Maybe they were just going to test it out on a few people or something, because I can only see maybe ten Yeerks.

            Just get rid of it, Jake ordered.

            You got it.  Rachel demorphed and walked over to where there were a few Dracon beams up against the wall.  She paused for a second, tired because of the morphing, and then aimed it at the pool.  "Bye-bye."

            TSEEEW!

            _Beep!_

            What was that? Jake demanded.

            You were able to hear that? Ax asked.

            Um, yeah, some kind of beeping noise.  Guys, get out now!  People are looking over here.

            "Hang on!" Rachel said as she started her transition back to wolf.  Jake couldn't hear her, but she said it anyways.  She was frustrated now, on top of being tired.

            _Beep!  Beep!_

            We are trying, Prince Jake.

            Anyone else hear a beeping noise?

            I hear it, Tobias stated.  And I'm way up here.

            A bomb? Cassie demanded, astonished.

            I think they rigged it so if anyone touched the pool, it would self-destruct, Marco said.  You know, kill the Andalite bandits if they get nearby.

            Rachel and Ax out now! Jake ordered.  We're getting some eyes, and-

            _Beep beep__ beep!_

            We're coming! Rachel snapped.  Hang on already!

            Rachel, look!  There is an opening here, and it is right by the fence!

            Rachel looked over where Ax was looking, and he was right.  It was the quickest way out from where they were.  Jake, get yourself and Erek out.  Don't worry about us; we found a way.

            Rachel!

            I know, I know!  Trust me, Jake.  Get out.

            Let's go, Erek.

            Erek walked away from the house, trying to look casual.  Then a Controller walked up to him and asked him what he was doing.

            "It's making a strange noise," Erek told the man.  "It sounds like an explosive of somekind."

            The man gave him a sideways look and then walked over to the house.  He heard glass shatter and ran inside to see what was going on.

            _Beepbeepbeepbeep!_

            High-pitched beeping noises, that grew faster and faster.

            Everyone run! Jake ordered.  Erek, get us out of here.

            Erek looked around to see if anyone was watching.  When he didn't see anyone, he changed the hologram to look like the scenery around them and then ran, with Jake running beside him.

            BOOM!

            The haunted house suddenly burst out into flames, Yeerk pool, Controller, and all.  All of the Controllers guarding the park looked over there to see what had happened, but all they saw was a house on fire.

            Rachel?  Ax? Jake asked.

            Jake!  We're okay; we got out.  Rachel's voice.  Both of us.

            Good.  Back to Cassie's.


	7. Sloppy

Sign of a bad writer: unable to continue fics.

Sign that this is a bad story: author unable to continue fic.

Sorry, sorry, I just don't know where to go from here.  I wanted to end it in this chapter, **but** be warned that when I end something just for the sake of ending it, the ending is always really bad.  So this ending would be bad.  But you're a writer, most likely, just like me.  Therefore if you would like to continue and/or end this fic in a way better than I can do, you can e-mail me at ojoshermososmadrid.com and we'll work something out.  I'm sorry I couldn't do better… I have a lot of other fics going on at the moment, most of which are not yet posted on ffn.  I hope you guys can forgive me.

And now is when the ffn rules bite me in the butt, because I'm technically unable to update with just a bunch of author notes.  Therefore I have to give you a chapter.  So I'm in a dilemma, see, so I'm just going to make stuff up.  I hope magic happens or, well, something.

Here we go:

            "Jake."

            Jake looked over to Cassie when she said his name.  He'd stayed behind in her barn after their meeting – everyone else had already left.

            "What was that?"

            "Probably like Marco said," Jake answered.  "They had it rigged up so it would self-destruct or something.  It was a little mini-bomb."

            "That's not what I mean," Cassie said.  "We had more holes in that plan than we've ever had.  I'm worried about you.  I don't want it to be too much."

            "I'm alright," Jake assured her.  "There was no way we could've known.  We had everything else worked out."

            Cassie shook her head, stood, and walked closer to Jake.  She sat down next to him and held his hand in hers.  "That's not it," she said.  "We had everything worked out, yes, but it was all at the last minute.  Our first meeting, you let everything slide.  What if there was no way to work it out?  We could've died."

            Jake squeezed her hand.  "I wouldn't let that happen.  We will never go if we can't come out alive."

            Cassie sighed, but then she looked up at him and smiled a little.  "Now get some sleep," she told him.  "We're not done yet."

            Jake nodded.  "I know, I know.  We get sloppier and sloppier as time goes on.  I promise to crack down more."

            "And I promise to speak up if something's not right," Cassie added.  "Just in case."

            Jake smiled and gave Cassie a peck on the cheek.  She blushed a little, but it was almost impossible to see on her dark skin, especially because there was little lighting in the barn.  "It's a deal."


End file.
